Elite troops sent to help yacht hostages' release

Elite French troops are being sent to East Africa to bolster efforts to free captives held by pirates who seized a luxury yacht off Somalia, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said yesterday.

A team of the GIGN, a commando force that conducts anti-terrorist and hostage rescue operations, is being sent to Djibouti to "reinforce" negotiation teams in place, spokeswoman Pascale Andreani said in an online briefing.

Pirates took over the yacht, called Le Ponant, in the Gulf of Aden on Friday. It was carrying 30 crew members, including 22 French citizens, but no passengers. A French frigate, Le Commandant Bouan, was diverted from NATO duties and has been tracking the yacht.